The market of non volatile memories, for example of the EEPROM or Flash EEPROM type, is currently widely expanding and relates to the so called “data storage” area.
Until recently, this market almost exclusively involved the consumer sector of digital cameras, with the related support cards, or the known USB keys, which represent expansion portable memories for personal computers. Therefore, the request for these products by the consumer market was especially aimed at flash memories of great capacity.
This trend seems to be destined for reinforcement in the next years by virtue of the new applications which require higher and higher memory capacities, for example for applications such as those as digital cameras or for cell-phones of the most recent generation, operating according to the 3G or UMTS standard.
These applications are completely compatible with the natural evolution of flash memories if one considers that these memories are substantially mass memory units in the solid state with further advantages linked to their low power consumption, to their operational silence, to the reduced dimension etc.